Lawmakers trying again on e-waste recycling

One of our priorities on front page of Oregonian February 7, 2007.

SALEM -- Oregonians discarded 32,500 tons -- or 1,625 semitrailer loads -- of computers, televisions and obsolete electronics in 2005. But only a fraction of that so-called e-waste was recycled or reused.

Today, Oregon lawmakers begin their third attempt to write an electronics recycling law. A handful of states, including Washington and California, already have laws to keep defunct and potentially toxic computers and televisions out of landfills.

Oregon, proud of its green image and home of the nation's first bottle recycling bill, debated the idea in 2003 and 2005, but couldn't come up with a plan that everybody could live with.

"We're the only state on the West Coast that doesn't have anything. It's embarrassing," says Wayne Rifer, a Portland resident and operations manager for the Green Electronics Council, which encourages environmentally friendly design and recycling.

In 2005, legislation was introduced in Salem that followed the California electronics recycling model. Under that plan, consumers pay a $6 to $10 recycling fee when they buy a computer monitor or television set.

But in Oregon, an electronics industry lobbyist branded the advanced fee a "computer sales tax."

This year, the idea is to replicate the Washington model. The rules are being written for that law, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2009. Manufacturers will be required to register, pay a fee to the state, and either provide recycling services directly or pay a state-approved organization to handle high-tech scrap.

There are no estimates yet of how much of those costs will be passed on to the consumer.

Rep. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, and chairwoman of the House Energy and Environment Committee, is confident that Oregon will get a law this year. House and Senate leadership are onboard, she says. And Gov. Ted Kulongoski's spokeswoman said Tuesday that he wants Oregon to have an e-waste recycling law.

There are three e-waste proposals in Salem -- one from Dingfelder, another from the state Department of Environmental Quality, and a third that Sen. Frank Morse, R-Albany, drafted with input from computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co.

All three, along with other ideas, will be discussed today in the House Energy and Environment Committee, which will meet at 1 p.m. in hearing room C at the Capitol. Dingfelder plans to form a work group to hammer out any disagreements and have one consensus bill ready for a committee vote by mid-March.

Her goal: For every Oregonian to have a free and convenient place to discard old computers.

Dingfelder says she also wants to ensure that electronic recyclers meet certain environmental and safety standards.

"The state is not going to get into the business of recycling computers," she says. "The state's role is to make sure it's done right and costs don't become a burden."

Environmental advocates are launching the debate with a dramatic stunt. Today, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., members of the public are invited to drop off one old computer, monitor or TV each on the Capitol's front steps.

The intent is to draw attention to the mountain of e-waste piling up in Oregonians' closets, garages and basements -- a fact of life not lost on environmental regulators.

"We feel it's an issue that needs to be addressed," says Bob Danko, a DEQ senior analyst. "After the 2005 session, we knew, and everybody else knew the problem wasn't going to go away."

Computer monitors, television sets and other electronics contain hazards that can threaten humans and the environment if not properly handled.

The cathode ray tube in a computer monitor can contain as much as four pounds of lead, which can damage the nervous system. Printed circuit boards can have small amounts of mercury. Plastics can contain flame-retardant chemicals that can be released into the environment and move up the food chain to humans.

Last year, a state survey found e-waste drop-off sites, ranging from Goodwill and other charities to processors that handle nothing but electronics, in all but 11 Oregon counties. It also found wide discrepancies in handling practices.

"I think there needs to be some regulation of this industry, like any other industry," says Greg Sampson, vice president of Earth Protection Services, a Tigard firm that processes computers, television and fluorescent lamps for recycling.

Talk of a national electronics recycling law has continued for years, without success. This year, Oregon is one of 11 states considering e-waste laws.

In the meantime, manufacturers -- including Dell and Hewlett-Packard -- have established their own programs, says Jim Craven, a lobbyist for the Oregon Council of the American Electronics Association.

 "Manufacturers haven't had their heads in the sand for the last 10 years," Craven says. "Is it free and easy to recycle in every town in Oregon? Probably not. But companies are ramping up every day."

Craven says his board is neutral so far on the Oregon proposals.

Tom Gallagher, lobbyist for the Consumer Electronics Coalition, which includes computer and television manufacturers, says he will "sit and watch for a while."

"I would like to see something positive happen on this," he says. "But a manufacturers-pay system hasn't worked anywhere. And we've opposed it everywhere."

But here in Oregon, a manufacturers-pay model, such as Washington's, appears to be winning favor with both Democrats and Republicans.

"I believe we will have an electronics recycling law this session," says Morse, R-Albany. "I don't see any obstacles that can't be overcome."

Michelle Cole: 503-294-5143; michellecole@news.oregonian.com